There is a girl at my gym
she is just a pretty young thing
who always treats me in such a nice way
where others have not the time of day
she smiles and greets me when I walk in
and even though it’s a professional thing
she does it all in such a way
that it lifts the spirits as though to say
“Go for it old man for you know that you can
work hard, pump iron and bring back your youth
roll back the years along with the strut
and show everyone how you do your stuff”.
Canine weight lifter
When a young girl smiles that way
it is such a nice way to start the day
to chat with you even just to say
“Hello, how are you feeling today”.
it brings back memories of my youth
when lifting weights was easy to do
and impressing the girls was part of the play
and if a girl so much as interest showed
then the pursuit was on with a long way to go.
Alas now I am old and grey
and the body parts have fallen away
and those that remain are not worth much
and are mostly out of touch
not working well or not at all
mere shadows of their former selves
so when a young girl sends me a smile
I know that there is no beguile
she is just being nice as young girls can
to give me encouragement all the while
that ready for that workout am I
enough to show the other guys
that all it takes to make me work well
is a smile from a young and beautiful girl.
Old weightlifter
Then I look around the gym
and see all of the younger men
pumping iron at triple the rate
that I can manage at seventy-eight
and I look for older fellows but few
and most are riding the exercise bikes
and those are going at a very slow pace
as though they have given up the race
against time with death not far behind
and are making one last stand, one last fight.
before Nature puts out the light.
I guess in truth I am the same
trying for my youth to reclaim
hoping against hope to buy more time
to right the wrongs that over the years
I have inflicted on my body with scars
to show the damages I have caused
as I pump the iron and lift the weights
and hope against hope that this one last fight
will be enough to buy a little more time
and when that young girl gives me her smile
and says,”Have a good workout” I know all the while
that what she is really saying to me
“Go for it, old man, good luck with your dream”.
Muscle Man
